Wednesday, May 3, 2017

May 2017

Hi all, May
2017

We had our ward conference this past weekend and was good but in ward council
before the sacrament meeting we had some good instruction.
Many times we have a list of names they want to visit or have concerns. Some are
visited but we never get through the list of 30-40 people!
So the stake president asked each auxiliary president to give him the name of
the top 2 people they are concerned about the most. He said I know there may be
20 but just give me the top 2. So each one gave him 2 names. He wrote them on
the board. Then asked to us to look. We saw there were names of families
on more than just one list. So primary kids and relief society had the same
family. So they need to work together. Then focus our Attention on those families,
or individuals. I was impressed that we try to help some and see what their
needs really are instead of just visit them once a month. Any way I was impressed
and hope we can do this. Like I said we have a list of 30-40 people listed and
we never get around to talking about most of them. So hopefully this will
help us focus on some and work together on helping them.

I am taking the finance self-reliance class and it is a great
program. All the books and manuals are on SRS.LDS.org if you want to look at
any of them. But so good to help people write down income and expenses. So many
in the class say, I did not know I was spending that much on this or that. So
it is good to see when money comes in and where we spend it. We have about 12 people in our Thursday night
class, but we also have 2 more finance classes on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Had a crazy Saturday. One of our missionaries is waiting here for
his visa to go to a foreign mission. So we got notified he received his visa on
Friday.
But it was afternoon Friday and he was flying out Sunday which is unusual also.
Well He did not have his passport as he left it with the MTC or salt lake. And
so I went into to the office and called salt lake travel and they did not have
it. He was supposed to go to Dominican Republic but he will go to Puerto Rico
since they do not require a passport to get in. But I was on the phone for a
few hours trying to get him to the right place in time for his flight. The
president was at a mission president’s conference. So quite a busy day. But he
made it by to Puerto Rico on time and everything worked out. But crazy busy day.

Then Monday some sad news. Dad had put his bike on our bike rack
so he could take it to get some adjustments done on it. Someone came and cut
off the lock and stole his bike. We even had it backed into the covered parking
space so they had to squeeze to get it. It had all his tools and pack for a
tire change, co2 cartridges, spare tube, Allen wrenches, and a few other goodies!
I know Jessica found her bike that was stolen on Craigslist. The not smart
thief advertised it for sale. So many people need and ride bikes here so
figured whoever took it needed a new bike. So he got a good one, only a few
months old and probably no more than 50 miles on it. Oh well, not sure if we
will get another replacement here.

Sister Andrus the new referral secretary here has been having some
back problems and has had a hard time sitting at the desk. So has gone home and
few times this week to rest. Dad’s shoulder still hurts but went to a
chiropractor yesterday so he said it feels better and he is doing some exercises
for it so hope that helps. But we are doing well. Staying healthy and I am
getting out walking in the mornings. Some pretty sun rises. We have the May
Grey now. Early mornings we have a foggy morning coming in from the ocean, and
clears off by mid-morning. But it is funny – it almost starts the very first
day of May!! The sunrises are pretty but we are not by the ocean to see it over
the water, we are more inland by our apt.

So Saturday we have Elder Christofferson coming to talk to the
missionaries. He has someone else coming to speak with him but not sure who. He
will also speak at the Camarillo stake conference the next day Sunday, so we
may go to that also. So I ordered 9 six foot long sub sandwiches, and will get
chips and cookies and bottled water for all 180 missionaries to have lunch
after our meeting. So hopefully I can get them all picked up and set up at the
church before the meeting starts, so I can listen and not worry about the kitchen
or food. But I am sure it will all work
out.

I think I told
you but at our last MLC – mission Leader Conference we had the pasta bar and
they love it so much. We cook 3 kinds of pasta – spaghetti, penne and rotini. Then
have 2 kinds of sauces – red spaghetti sauce and Alfredo sauce, also meatballs
and chicken strips. We have a big lettuce salad and garlic toast and then had
an Oreo ice cream dessert. Kind of like a layered lasagna. Crushed Oreos, layer of ice cream, fudge, then
cool whip and topped with crushed Oreos. We cooked about 10 pounds of noodles and they
ate almost every bite. No meat left and no dessert left either. So it was a
good meal!

I am thinking
of having scalloped potatoes and ham next week, but making them with hash
browns. We have not had that yet so will see. One of the assistants is leaving
this next transfer so I asked him if he had a favorite meal he wanted so have
not heard back from him so the menu may change. Smile

WE have seen
some great blessings while serving here. Jeff J. is coming out to church and
stopped drinking. Now he quit smoking marijuana, and he is coming out to church
regular and even received a calling to be the class president in our Sunday
School class. Fred is our Gospel essentials teacher and he went to the Los
Angeles temple last Saturday with us to do baptisms. So fun to see his
excitement. Now I am going to help him learn how to research his own family
names!! Yeah! He is so excited to get started. And so many others have found
jobs so that makes us feel good that we have been able to help them.

This is Jeff.
He got this super great job as a carpenter working for the union and great pay
and then he went to work high or drunk and hit his finger and broke it. Thank goodness
they will keep him on the job but he was scared that he may be fired for being
drunk on the job. So he is off work now recovering. He had to have surgery on
his hand to fix the broken finger. He smashed the bone so had to have pins to
put it back together.